REVIEW

Sophisticated or wildly attractive?

While the first generation of the S-10, Chevrolet's small pickup, sold well, no one would have called it sophisticated or wildly attractive. With the second-generation S-10 (and its GMC stablemate, the Sonoma), Chevy sought to improve the trucklet, at the same time saving development funds by basing it on the previous model.

New skin on old bones is a fair assessment, but not a complete one. Not only did the S-10 come with a new wardrobe; it had grown a size or two in interior volume, finding itself between the Japanese rivals and Dodge's near-full-size Dakota. Even better, the new S-10 displayed evidence of time in the weight room with new, robust engines.

Chevy started the second-gen's powerplant offerings with a new four-cylinder engine of 2.2 liters, featuring an iron block and an aluminum, single-cam head. It had a horsepower rating of 118, a whopping 36 more than the first S-10's 2.0-liter four-banger. This engine would remain in the lineup through the end, gaining 2 horsepower in 1998. Wisely, Chevy elected to keep the four-cylinder (thrumming through a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic) driving the rear wheels only.

If you wanted 4WD, you had to order the V-6. Where the first-gen S-10 featured a 2.8-liter V-6 borrowed from the 1980s X-cars, the new 4.3 was a different breed, though still a two-valve-per-cylinder design. Power was up, starting at 165 horses in 1994 (later dropping to 155) with a torque rating no lower than 235 pound-feet. Even better was that you could order an "enhanced" version of the 4.3 with 195 horsepower. Chevy changed to Vortec-spec engines for 1996, resulting in a 180-horsepower base engine and a 190-horse enhanced version; both were derated by 10 horsepower in 2WD models.

Acceleration as a subset of performance is determined by the power-to-weight ratio, and that could be all over the board in the S-10 game because of the myriad iterations. As it did (and does) with the full-size trucks, Chevy built an amazing number of configurations. There's the standard cab (no back seat, no storage to speak of), an extended cab, and, beginning in 1996, a third, driver's side door on those models.

By 2001, Chevy had followed the then-current small-truck trend with a four-door crew-cab iteration. There are many, many trim levels: Choose from Base or LS, plus variations like the Wide Stance, Xtreme, ZR2 (big tires and 4WD), in addition to suspension options.

The S-10 had mechanical issues, prompting four brake-system-specific recalls. Owners also rate the early trucks' brake feel as subpar. Through 1997, the S-10's fuel-injection system is said to be troublesome, as are the transmissions and transfer cases in the 1995-2002 models.

While the first S-10 in 1994 is currently valued slightly above the outgoing Toyota Pickup, it significantly lags behind the next year's offerings, when Toyota introduced the Tacoma, particularly where 4WD trucks are concerned. (The Toyota has dramatically better resale.) Overall, the S-10's value remains close to the Ford Ranger's, making the larger, more-powerful Chevy an enticing choice.

Every December at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, we team up with the Playtime Foundation to host the C.H.O.C. (Children’s Hospital of Orange County) Cruise—an event aimed to brighten the holiday season for less fortunate kids.

Any S-10 that lays frame with 22s at all corners is cool in our book, but Ryan Arsenault's 'bagged and body-dropped '96 doesn't cut any corners. Keep an eye out for our next issue for plenty more photos of the ragtop mini.

1991 Chevrolet S10

Day-to-day things run smooth as glass around the headquarters of "The World's Leading Truck Publication," how-ever, there are those days when we screw up. I tend to screw up royally. I leave the little screwing to other editors. My best example of one major mishap is with Jenn Lacey's amazing '91 S